The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested additional time from the court to file sealed documents for the case against the alleged unregistered securities offering of Telegram’s Gram token.
Per a letter submitted to the presiding judge, the regulator asked for an extension of time from October 21 to October 23.
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“Since that letter was filed [on October 17], we have significantly narrowed the issues in dispute. However, there remain disputed issues as to four documents that we hope to resolve or at least significantly narrow shortly,” the financial watchdog stated.
“One of the affected non-parties has asked that the Commission request two additional days to file the motion to seal in the hope that we can narrow or eliminate the issues for the Court to resolve. This is the second request for additional time to file the motion to seal. We therefore respectfully request until Wednesday, October 23, 2019, to file the motion to seal.”
This came days after the judge ordered an extension of hearing of the case from October 24 to February 19-20 next year. The decision also barred the messaging company from distributing its tokens in the United States to investors until the final hearing of the lawsuit.
The quest of SEC for unregistered securities
After raising $1.7 billion in two private placements last year, Telegram was set to launch its TON blockchain and distribute its native tokens before the pre-decided deadline of October 30.
However, earlier this month, the SEC obtained a restraining order against the company to stop the distribution of the tokens. The regulator alleged that Gram tokens fall under the category of security and accused the company of its involvement in the distribution of unregistered securities.
The company is now seeking permission from investors to push the launch date from October 30 to April 30 next year. It also vowed to invest another $80 million in the project if the launch date is extended.